We knocked out a wall last fall and added this dining room onto our house. I wanted a table that could seat at least ten people and we can actually seat twelve comfortably here.

Local Amish craftsmen made the table and corner hutch out of maple.

I purchased the baker's rack in the other corner from overstock.com. An antique sideboard is on one wall and two sets of windows on the opposite wall offer a view of the woods in our backyard.

Dear Blog Readers: Are you bothered by all this bedbug buzz? In a recent phone conversation, Lindsey mentioned to me that she was creeped out about this newest public panic. To help her put it all in perspective I talked a little bit about global warming, and unemployment, terrorism, Alzheimer's disease and brain cancer, and I think I made her feel a lot better. But then the October 4th issue of Time magazine arrived in the mail and it featured an article entitled "This Really Sucks," which I read late at night, in bed.

Did you know that there were 82 cases of bedbug infestations in New York City multifamily residences in 2004, and in 2009 there were 4,088??!!!! Did you know an adult bedbug can go 550 days without food???? Did you know that when Bob returns home from his many business trips he flops his folding travel bag right down on the bed????

Apparently bedbugs can cause real psychological damage because they're creepy. "They're invading your sanctuary, your bed, and suddenly you can't sleep because they're coming out of your walls, out of your box springs, to feed on you in the night."

I turned out the lights and lay there in the dark, feeling itchy, thinking about being psychologically damaged (and bitten) by a herd of stampeding stinkbug cousins. Then I jumped up, turned on the lights and did a quick mattress and box spring check, and I am pleased to report that the Hickory Hill Hood (at least, 1109) is bedbug free.

I subbed in second grade today, and it was a long day, and I'm tired, so goodnight blog readers, sleep tight and don't let..........

I baked this cake on Friday for Dave and Jean Baker's 60th wedding anniversary. It was an attempt to recreate their wedding cake, only not really, because this is three layers of carrot cake. The cream cheese frosting is not that easy to work with - hard to get perfectly smooth. This is their original wedding cake topper and that's Jean's wedding gown hanging in the background. Still lovely after sixty years. Congratulations to them!

Still Reading: The Postmistress

What a beautiful weekend this has been! I snapped these pictures this afternoon. I've tried planting sunflowers in my front yard flowerbed for the last few years, but critters always dig up the seeds. The birdfeeders are posted at the edge of the garden and I guess the critters just can't get to every seed back there. I call this: "Sunflower with Bumbly-bee".......

And this is "Sunflower with Butterfly."

And this would be "Little Roxanne comes to visit Grandma and get some chicken snacks and cheese chunks"

Lindsey came up on Saturday for a special Book Babe meeting. We decided last fall to end our year by inviting our daughters/sisters/moms to join us in reading and discussing the book Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. We had one heck of a time scheduling our meeting, postponing it a couple of times and finally settling on Labor Day Weekend. Brent and a friend went to the Notre Dame/Purdue game. The friend dropped him off in Fort Wayne last night and we enjoyed a late dinner at Casa Grille. Today, the kids and Bob played golf (less than half price with our Groupon coupons) at Noble Hawk. Then the kids went on to Chicago to meet friends and then attend a Cubs' game tomorrow.

Last weekend we drove down to Noblesville for our annual Symphony on the Prairie. This year - The Beatles. Mom, Aunt Kae, Jeff, Conni, Lori, Baleigh, Brent, Lindsey, Bob and I picnicked and and sang along with all the great Beatles tunes. WE HAD A REALLY FUN TIME! We decided that next year we're taking a table along too.

Jeff and Conni drove Mom and Kae back to Effingham that night, but Lori and Baleigh and Bob and I spent the night at Lindsey's and did some shopping on Sunday afternoon. We left the boys at home. Bonnie kept an eye on Grandpa to make sure he didn't get out of line.

Reading: The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Recipe of the Week:

I was cleaning out my recipe box and came across this one. I think it was on a package of frozen chicken breasts and I had never tried it. I fixed it on Friday night and it was very good. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough yummy sauce. I cut the breasts in half for quicker cooking time. When I make it again, I think I'll just use three breasts and cut them each in half. I also might double the sauce recipe because it was really good and you'll want plenty.

Chicken Breast Stroganoff

Boneless breasts (6 pieces)

1 & 1/2 Tablespoon butter

1 & 1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

2 teaspoons dried chives

1/4 teaspoon dill weed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chicken brother

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup sour cream

In a large skillet, melt butter and brown breast fillet on both sides: remove chicken and reserve. Add mushrooms, parsley, chives, dill, salt, and pepper; cook until mushrooms are softened. Stir in chicken broth and return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until breast fillets are tender. Remove breast fillets from skillet and place in a heated serving platter. In a small bowl combine flour and sour cream. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet; cook until heated through. Serve sauce over breast fillets.

Kid City happened yesterday at the fairgrounds. Painting this fence is a kid-favorite event there. The local paint store allows kids to choose and mix (with help) their own paint colors. Then, they get to paint a portion of this fence and they can take their leftover pint of paint home with them. Looks like blues and greens were big this year. I helped out at the KPC Design an Ad Booth. Fun times. Kid City is a wonderful event for families in our area. It's held each year on the first Saturday in August.

Happy 30th Anniversary to us! On August 10th, Bob and I will celebrate 30 years of "Livin' the Dream." We were married on an extremely hot day and we honeymooned in St. Louis. There we took in a Cardinal game and then toured the Anheuser Busch Brewery where we were privileged to view the back sides of several of their top Clydesdales. I don't think many young couples today would choose that locale for honeymooning. Brent and Lindsey went to Hawaii. Heck, Rob and Candace went to Hawaii to get engaged. Times change. By the way, this picture is part of the Church Directory/Obituary package.

Reading: I finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night. Yes, yes, I know - an action-packed weekend here in the Hickory Hill Hood.

Recipe of the Week: I decided it was finally time to take on some of the recipes in the Julia Child: Mastering the Art of French Cooking book. I started with Gateau a L'orange et Aux Amandes (Orange and Almond Spongecake) because it reminded me of a couple other cakes I like - Gateau Ganache and the Orange Poppy Seed Torte. (recipes for both in the blog archives) Alas, I was not altogether pleased with the results, so I am not going to post the recipe here. The jury is still out on this one because I don't know if it's me or the cake.

This and That: A Catching Up Post. I realized last week that I did not mention to you, blog-readers, that Bob made a trip to Turkey in June. He went over to check on a paper problem and he was in Istanbul and Ankara. Bob said the food was good and the Turkish people were very accommodating. But, FYI, if you're ever over there printing textbooks for their government, you might want to know that they are very serious about the correct color of the Turkish flag.

This is a cake that I baked to celebrate Landon's half-birthday, because last December there was so much going on at the Kutscher house, the special day just didn't get the celebration it merited. For those of you who might not recognize these characters, they're Otis and Maddy from "Back to the Barnyard." Otis is a man-cow, but for some reason, he sports a nice set of udders. I don't understand why that is, so I just went with an Otis bust. (which is pretty masculine)

Sung to the tune of "I've been Workin' on the Railroad"

"Bob's been workin' on my backsplash

All the live long day."

And that's all I've got , so far.

READING: Last week, I finished up Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, which is the Book Babes' next discussion book. This week, I 'm reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Recipe of the Week:

I made these deviled eggs yesterday and, at first, I didn't think I cared for them that much, but after they had set covered in the fridge for a while, I realized that - yes, yes I did like them and so did Bob. Here's the recipe:

Savory Deviled Eggs

6 hard cooked eggs

1/4 cup mayo

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

From the Old Farmer's Almanac: If you receive a bag of walnuts, your wishes will come true.

Two Busy Weekends, and really not much time to blog in between. On Friday, July 16th, Bob and I picked up Lindsey in Indy and went to Effingham, where we watched my cousin Rich's band (The Naked Sissy's) perform at the Orchard Inn. We hadn't heard them and tried all last summer to catch them, but it never worked out, so we decided early this summer that this would be our Naked Sissy's Weekend. We were joined there by Jeff & Megan, cousins, Lisa and Cary, Lori and Dan, and ran into many other noteworthy folks. Sidenote: I wonder why they use the possessive form of Sissy's? and not plain old Sissies?? The Naked Sissy's....what? I saw four sissies in that band. Hmmm. I wanted to ask but didn't want to come off like some nitpicky English teacher....I took this crappy picture of my cousin, and then my camera battery ran out of juice and I was finished taking crappy pictures for that weekend.





On Saturday, Bob and Lindsey and I drove down to Lori and Dan's in Carbondale to see their house and to tour the wine trail in Shawnee National Forest. It was very, very hot there, and a huge dog followed us into the tasting room at one winery, seeking refuge in the cool air. He hid under the counter between us and slapped a giant paw on my sandled-foot, in some kind of desperate plea not to rat him out or the proprietor would toss him back out into the hot parking lot. He was a big Newfoundland named Bandit. Here he is with Lindsey. Note that Lindsey is not holding a wine glass, but a bottle of Saluki Dunkeldog beer, bottled by Big Muddy Brewery. After tasting some wine (and beer) we went back to Dan and Lori's lovely house and grilled some brats and began food preparation for the Hankins' family reunion to be held the next day back in Effingham. Here's a picture of Lindsey and Baleigh taken just before serious cookie baking commenced. (Baleigh after a long hot day of tournament softball) To the right of Lindsey, you might notice a piece of my luggage, which I love dearly. It's Etienne Aigner and I've had it for eleven years. It's very distinct and easy to spot on the baggage carousel. I never want to part with it.





Sunday, the 18th began like Saturday the 17th had ended - hot - very, very hot. But, as we were driving north a big storm passed through the area and we arrived at Community Park just as the rain was letting up, and the temperature dropped significantly and there was a breeze, and well, I think God must have been smiling down on the Hankins' reunion because it was the best day they'd had there in weeks. Here's a picture of most of the family members present that day. I took the liberty of having some shirts printed up that said "Hawkshawfest 2010." That's because our grandpa used to tell us that we were part Hawkshaw Indian, which of course, we aren't, as there is no such tribe. However, some younger cousins, not wanting to doubt his word, bought into the notion. So anyway, it's a running joke and here are some of the Hawkshaw tribe members - Scotsmen and women posing as Native Americans:

Last week I filled in for Sally at the park department for the very last time because Sally is retiring at the end of this week. She's worked there for 23 years, and I've been filling in for her when she goes on vacation for the last 12 years or so. There will be a doin's for her on her last day. On Saturday morning, Bob and I traveled to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania to surprise our dear friend, Stormy for her birthday. We were waiting for them at one of their favorite restaurants, and I do believe that she was truly surprised. Here we are at the restaurant. On Sunday we went into New York to see an exhibit at the Metropolitan Art Museum. American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity.



















We drove back to Wilkes Barre Sunday evening. I had baked a carrot cake for her birthday and here we are eating it.








And one more shot - but is this a picture from the Met?

Heck, no. This Winged Victory replica is in Nick and Stormy's bedroom! How cool is that? All we've got in our bedroom is a silk ficus, which really should be pitched in the trash.



So, there you have it. I've got nothing going on this week at all, so maybe I'll get some cooking done. Thanks for stopping by!!!!